BATH-The Van Wert Cougars travelled to Bath High School on Friday
night for Western Buckeye League football action against the Bath
Wildcats. The Cougars shut out Bath to pick up the 33-0 victory on a
rainy night.
Friday night win over Bath was the first time since 2008 that Van Wert beat Bath on the road.
The
Cougars defense forced a three and out on Bath’s first drive. Van Wert
offense scored a touchdown with a one yard dive by quarterback Nate
Place with 8:00 left in the first quarter. TJ Reynolds added the point
after to put the Cougars up 7-0.
The second drive for Lima Bath
ended after a 32 yard pass as Cyrus Burden to Lex Boedicker. Boedicker
fumbled the ball and Van Wert recovered the pig skin.
Van Wert
couldn’t turn the turnover into points. But the Cougars found pay dirt
again with 4:07 left in the first quarter as Place went 45 yards for a
touchdown on a one play scoring drive, 13-0 Van Wert.
The Cougars
had a bit of misfortune during a drive that spanned the end of the first
quarter and the start of the second period. Place got hurt on a third
down run for a first down. Owen Treece took control of the Van Wert
offense as Place night was done after that run.
“It’s the same
shoulder that has been bothering him (Place) for a little bit,” said Van
Wert football coach Keith Recker. “We are going to have to take to
Doctor Jones and our trainer but Nate is a tough kid if he can go he
will go. If not we will get Owen ready.”
Treece moved Van Wert
into first and goal from the eight yard line but couldn’t convert on
fourth down. The Cougar defense forced a strip sack and recovered the
fumble in the end zone for a Van Wert touchdown with 4:49 left in the
first half.
Van Wert took a 19-0 lead into intermission and the
Cougars defense got a turnover to start the second half. Tanner
Barnhart’s interception allowed Van Wert offense to score after two long
runs from Jake Hilleary.
Treece later found Dru Johnson for a
seven yard touchdown pass with 2:55 left in the third quarter, 26-0. The
Cougars picked up another score in the fourth quarter as Hilleary
dashed into the end zone from 25 yards out with 3:44 left in the game.
Reynolds added the extra point to put Van Wert up 33-0.
The Cougar defense sealed their shut out as Clayton Profit picked off Burden with just seconds left in the contest.
“This
was good for Owen even though Bath doesn’t have a good record,” added
coach Recker. “They are in the top half of the WBL in defense. So
defensive they are solid and they have just struggle on offense. It was
good for Owen to get into the game and get some experience.”
Van
Wert improves to 6-2 on the season and 5-2 in the WBL. The win on Friday
night guaranteed this Cougar team would have the best record for Van
Wert football in 15 years. The Wildcats drop to 0-8 on the year and 0-7
in the WBL.